On Equal Pay Day, Comptroller Stringer Releases First-of-its-kind Analysis Spotlighting Massive Gender and Racial Wage Gaps by Occupation in New York City

(New York, NY) – Today, on Equal Pay Day, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released a first-of-its-kind analysis that spotlights how massive pay disparities between men and women permeate throughout the city’s workforce and deny women equal economic power and security. The new analysis shows how both gender and race drive yawning wage gaps and reveals for the first time how these gaps persist even for people engaged in the same line of work in New York City. Comptroller Stringer’s report found that while women comprise nearly half of New York City’s total workforce and contribute almost $100 billion annually in earnings to the economy, they are paid as little as half of the average earnings of White men among the highest-paying occupations – with women of color making as low as 39 cents on every dollar paid to a White man. Moreover, while the gender wage gap narrows in some professions where women have historically been overrepresented, racial wage gaps among women exceed the average gender pay gap twofold, underscoring the need for a racial lens to be applied to all efforts to achieve gender equity.

“Women power New York City, but pay equity remains a far too distant promise and pay discrimination continues to be all too real. In every way, women contribute to the health and vitality of this city, but they face persistent barriers in every line of work. It’s wrong, and it has to change. If New York City is going to lead in this century and the next, all women must be paid what they are worth. It’s that simple,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “The wage gaps this report reveals, particularly for women of color, are downright despicable, and they should serve as a clarion call for action. In the Comptroller’s office, we’ve led a nationwide campaign to shake up corporate America and increase gender and racial diversity in corporate boardrooms. We’ve fought for women- and minority-owned businesses to get a fair shot. And on Equal Pay Day – and every day – we’re going to continue to fight for fairness because we have to unstack the deck against women and minorities in every corner of our city.”

The Comptroller’s analysis found that traditionally male-dominated occupations at the higher end of the economic spectrum perpetuate not only a gender wage gap, but a power gap with significant implications for women’s long-term economic security – particularly for women of color.

Gender Wage Gap Largest in “Boy’s Club” Occupation of Finance

• The gender wage gap is largest among financial managers, the highest-paying occupation in the analysis with average annual earnings of about $166,000.
• Pay disparities among financial managers stretch close to $90,000 for White women, and over $135,000 for women of color.
• White male financial managers earn more than two times what Hispanic, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI), and Black women are paid within the same occupational group—roughly $224,000 annually compared to about $100,000, $91,000, and $88,000, respectively.
• Put another way, Hispanic, AAPI, and Black women financial managers make 45 cents, 40 cents, and 39 cents, respectively, for every dollar paid to White male financial managers.
• The gender wage gap is smaller but still stark for White women, who make 60 cents to every dollar paid to White male financial managers.

In New York City’s High-Paying Occupations, Women and Women of Color Are Locked Out of Opportunity and Denied Full Earning Potential

• Among software developers, the gender wage gap for White, Hispanic, and AAPI women and is 77 cents, 70 cents, and 68 cents on every dollar paid to a White man in the same line of work.
• Among other managerial level positions, White, AAPI, Black and Hispanic women were found to make about 79 cents, 63 cents, 63 cents, and 55 cents respectively, for every dollar paid to White men.

Women’s and Men’s Full-time Earnings by Race and Occupation Reveals Depths of Pay Discrimination

In Lower-Paying, Women-Dominated Occupations, Gender Wage Gap Is Smaller, But Racial Pay Gap Can Be Even Larger

• Gender pay inequity is smallest in jobs traditionally associated with women, such as registered nurses and secretaries. However, pay inequity persists for women of color. In fact, the racial pay gap among women exceeds the gender wage gap between White women and White men in some cases.
• Black women, Hispanic women, and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women respectively earn 98 cents, 88 cents, and 80 cents for every dollar earned by a White male secretary.
• Among registered nurses, White and AAPI women make $1.08 and $1.04 respectively, relative to every dollar made by a White man, while Hispanic and Black women earn 98 cents and 88 cents on the dollar.
• The wage gap between White women and White men (21 cents for secretaries and 8 cents among registered nurses) is less than that between White women and women of color. AAPI women secretaries, for example, make only 66 cents for every dollar paid to white women secretaries.

In this report, Comptroller Stringer called on the New York State Assembly and Senate to pass legislation that would extend the City’s ban on salary history inquiries statewide, as four states have already done, in order to help level the playing field for women in the workplace.

To read the Comptroller’s full report, “Power and the Gender Wage Gap,” please click here.

To read the Comptroller’s “Making the Grade” report, please click here.

To read the Comptroller’s “Boardroom Accountability Project” reports, please click here.

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